Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Over the past two weeks I have prepared the first ever issue of The Syncopated Times. This was no doubt the hardest work I've ever done in my life. Added to that, it was necessary for me to teach myself newspaper layout from the ground up as I was assembling my first issue. Luckily, I'm fairly resourceful, and a quick study—but I've also had to struggle against my own profound inertia to scale a learning curve that has been more of a right angle. But the first issue is done! In finishing it I've managed to amaze myself.

Last year I began writing for The American Rag, a monthly national paper devoted to the preservation and perpetuation of traditional jazz and ragtime. Though a series of wholly unanticipated circumstances, I purchased the assets of the paper from Don Jones, who published The American Rag over the past twenty years. I am deeply grateful to Don and Cathie Jones for this opportunity, and I am determined to keep their work going in The Syncopated Times far into the future.

Thanks also for the indispensable help of Lew Shaw, Russ Tarby, Gary Price, and Norman Vickers whose work you will find in our first issue.

Since I'm expanding the frequency of issue to twelve per year, at the start of February I'm raising the yearly subscription price to $30 per year in the US (and $55 for two years). I'll maintain the Canadian and Overseas rates at present (as posted on The American Rag website ) but I anticipate expanding to include a digital edition that will make it much more economical for subscribers outside the US to receive content. (And being digital, it will be instantaneous.)

To subscribe, email me at subscribe@syncopatedtimes.com with your name, address, and full nine-digit zip code (and your pledge to subscribe) and I'll add you to the list of subscribers. All current subscribers to The American Rag will automatically receive The Syncopated Times for the duration of their subscription. For new subscriptions, mail yout check for the one or two-year subscription to: